I would like to clear up what I see as confusion regarding C&R and milsurp.

Many military surplus guns are in the Curio and Relic category by virtue of being over 50 years old. But all guns over 50 years old are C&R, not just milsurp. As of today, that means any gun made before Feb. 11, 1963.

So folks with C&R licenses (FFL 03) may be missing out on a lot of guns by thinking only of milsurps. Sure, that Mosin-Nagant is a C&R item. But so is that nice S&W Model 19 made in 1962. Or that Colt Python made in 1960. Or that pre-64 Winchester Model 70 from 1959.

So take advantage of your C&R license. A lot more than milsurp can be shipped directly to you.

The problem is that most FFL Dealers will not sell a 50 YO firearm directly to a C&R. Sure, the CZ82, Mosin Nagants, some SKS's...etc. aren't a problem but when you start trying to buy that S&W 39 with your C&R - good luck!

agreed, it's hard enough to try to get some FFLs to give their information to you so you can ship a gun to them without a license, such a practice is completely legal yet I have had several FFL holders insist that you MUST have a FFL to ship a gun and to not do so is illegal.

it saddens me to say it but many FFL holders don't even understand how their own license works, no less how a license that they haven't had cause to research works.

yes you can buy a remington model 30 with your C&R license but since most FFLs that deal with C&Rs mainly deal with military surplus rifles it is kindof an oddity to have someone ask to buy a pre 64 winchester with a C&R, it is not what they are used to dealing with and the knee jerk reaction is to just say no and make them do an FFL transfer. it is not right but good luck re-educating the several thousand FFL holders across the US.

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I don't think there has ever been much confusion about C&R firearms. I think it's mostly that the majority of Class 03 FFL license holders are only interested in milsurps. Partialy because of their history, partially because of the relatively low price of many of them.

I've used mine for an S&W M&P and K38, neither were surplus and didn't have any problem. But I was lucky enough to be dealing with folks that knew what they were doing.
I go to Texas often and if I'm at a shop and they ask me what I'm interested in I always say something like, "I'm from Virginia so I'm really only interested in these C&R revolvers..." etc. That way if there's going to be any issue I'm going to know before I get too interested in something. One place wasn't going to do it...their loss.

I wanted to buy an 1890's something Mosin with my C&R from a gunshop to avoid the NCIS fee and the LGS guy wouldn't go for it. His "what the heck is that" comment when I showed him my C&R lic. didn't bode well for a smooth transaction.

I wanted to buy an 1890's something Mosin with my C&R from a gunshop to avoid the NCIS fee and the LGS guy wouldn't go for it. His "what the heck is that" comment when I showed him my C&R lic. didn't bode well for a smooth transaction

I think it's a "play dumb" scheme by many dealers that don't want their customers to know that for a coupl bucks more tha one transfer, or the dealers mark up on a gun or two, they can get a C&R FFL that is pretty hassle free so they can have quilafied guns shipped to them directly. They know what an 03 FFL is, they just want to ignore they exisist, and keep other customers from knowing about them

Some interesting responses. I had rather gotten the idea from the sites that 03 FFL holders themselves didn't realize that the license was good for more than milsurp. Maybe we can educate everyone.

One place to start might be comments like "I have had several FFL holders insist that you MUST have a FFL to ship a gun and to not do so is illegal."

An 03 FFL IS an FFL, though one limited to a certain class of guns, and there is no restriction on who can ship a gun, only on who can mail a gun. The restriction is on to whom a gun can be shipped in interstate commerce.

There is a change in the works with USPS, I understand, but the wording of the change is very ambiguous and confusing.

I have been trying to find it again. IIRC, it provided that firearms that had been "certified by a museum...." could be mailed by C&R licensees and to C&R licensees by anyone. The wording is from the definition of C&R in the law, but didn't mention the 50 year rule and didn't say if an actual certificate was needed or if a class/type of firearm was meant, or if a separate certificate was needed for each gun. That is why I said the wording was ambiguous and not (IMHO) something to be relied on until the questions are answered.

Certified by a museum curator as historically significant is one of the methods to get a firearm that is not necessarily 50 years old to be accepted by the BATF as a C & R firearm. It still must go through an application process however if the said firearm is less than 50 yo.

Regarding the proposed USPS changes, they are for labeling ORM-D materials. By 2015, that category will be eliminated by the Department of Transportation, so materials that currently use the ORM-D label will have to be marked with the familiar "sideways square" with the appropriate boxes filled in.

By the way, there's no mystery about what changes are pending to the Post Office's Mailing Standards Department. Like all federal agencies, the proposals have to be published in the Federal Register and an appropriate comment period must be open. You can see what's been published in the Federal Register here: http://pe.usps.com/federalregisternotices.asp.

__________________Well we don't rent pigs and I figure it's better to say it right out front because a man that does like to rent pigs is... he's hard to stop - Gus McCrae

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